Choosing Veg Leather

Have you ever wondered what the differences are between ALL the options of vegetable-tanned leather? Kevin is here to help! He goes over import versus domestic veg tan, leather thicknesses and grading leather. To browse our veg tan leather selections, click "Show More" to see the website links. Thanks for watching!
Vegetable-Tanned Leather Selection: springfieldleat...
Hermann Oak Leather:
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[@Diabne]

I went to school 50 years ago and a 2x2x2 wasn’t a square. I think it was called a ...., ah..., cube? That guy shouldn’t drink before doing a video. Afterwards, hell yes!

[@mrniceshoes2118]

Are ya sure though? maybe rewatch just for the humor ….which unintentional can sometimes be better then the intentional

[@supermario7956]

Just bought some leather at my local leather store... bought a piece of belly and single shoulder can't wait for my projects to start

[@MountainFisher]

I first bought Hermann Oak Leather from Springfield and man! That stuff is good to work with.

[@scottarnett9504]

I really enjoyed this video. It is very informative. I couldn't help but chuckle though when he said 2'x2'x2' is 4sqft of leather and that he got that from school.

[@marcclarke01]

Tremendously informative. Thank you.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Glad you thought so!

[@noreezy4991]

I agree about south american and southeast asian hides. The rule of thumb is often based on the process-to-process comparable finished hide size (Eg the same tannage, the same finishing steps, the same degree and extent of staking or whatever, so that the only variable is the condition of the cow's life) Southeast asian hides might be in the 40-45 ft range. European cattle usually exceed 50, but not necessarily 60. I routinely get 69 and even 70 foot US hides. Occasionaly I'll find a real monster 75 footer.

[@benjaminworthen1843]

Great video. Very Informative, but I kept waiting for you to say: "Get off my Lawn!" I Love it!

[@toro5338]

Many thanks... for the lovable "confusion" you created in my previous clear mind ! 🤔😲.....😆

[@edf2953]

I am curious as to why you don’t mention Horween Leather Tannery when you mention U. S. Vegetable leather tanneries. Horween’s website clearly states that they vegetable tan some but not all of its leather. Can you clarify?

[@barbaravance6774]

I have a tannery here in Ohio as well. Moser leather. I haven't purchased from there. But, might stop by and ask to tape a video. They have posted that they are moving another one back to Hamilton Co. Ohio. Lots of jobs,will be opening. Thak You President Trump!😉

[@Bootbitch]

He wasn’t trying to list ALL the USA tanneries, he was just naming a few.

[@lynnlard5531]

@@Bootbitch at 2:30 the comment, "...there's only a couple of veg tan tanneries left in the United States..." sure sounds a lot like "ALL" to me.

[@AlicethePattern]

Thank you very much for the explanation! This was very informative. It's very appreciated!

[@BluegrassPercussion]

Very good information. Will be stopping by in June on a trip to Colorado from Kentucky. Tired of crappy leather from Tandy need some Hermann Oak.

[@cheaneysaddles]

Learn something new every time. Thanks for the post... Great looking store! Bruce

[@fuselage03]

So the differences in leather grading is just because of the cosmetic issues ? That's helped me alot. Thx really appreciate your explanation

[@Alialmutairy]

Very informative video from a great articulate man. I'd love to get into leather handwork for small stuff like wallets or card holders, then move on to the bigger guys like laptop sleeves and bags. Thank you again for making a total newbie understand the basics.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Thanks for watching! And that's how it all begins...small projects turn into bigger ones! Happy leather crafting :) :)

[@bobgabriel2685]

Great video, guys. Very helpful info. Can you tell me, what is the softest veg tanned leather available? I invented a precision bookmark (BookBrains(TM), not currently on market), with a sliding pointer on the strap. I want to laser engrave the leather, & also sometimes use acrylic paints in the laser engravings (whether text or graphics). I had a vendor try laser engraving chrome dyed (great feel though for this use), but it tends to curl with much laser engraving.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Hi, Robert! Thanks for watching! I consulted our resident laser engraver about your question. For laser engraving specifically, in our opinion, the best veg tan to engrave is always going to be Hermann Oak leather. It won't be as oily as the chrome tan leathers, but it cuts well, can provide great depth, and if you plan on dyeing it, it takes color wonderfully. At thinner weights, it can be almost as flexible as the chrome tans/oil tans, but it just requires more time to "break in". I'll touch on more options shortly. When it comes to chrome tan, however, that can be a different story (especially when it comes to a thin weight leather). We don't think it engraves as well as the Hermann Oak, but if done with a high DPI ("dots per inch"), the resolution quality on the engraving can really be boosted. In doing this, however, you would need to lower the engraving heat (which would also reduce the amount of edge curl on the leather). So, whether you decide to stick with the chrome tan or choose to run with the veg tan, there are a couple options that can be considered: When engraving very thin leather that tends to curl (primarily the chrome tan), small magnets can be used on the edges of the leather to help hold the edges down to the metal bed. That would be a fix that would need to be done at the vendor level or whoever is performing the engraving. This option would mainly be a priority if you love the leather you're using. One company we order chrome tan leather from is Horween Leather. We carry quite a few lighter weight chrome tans that work beautifully with engraving, but there are certain things that this leather cannot do that veg tan can do. If you choose to go with the veg tan, this leather can be manipulated in countless ways. To paint the inside of the engraving, it can be taped with a special type of painter's tape and engraved through it. That leaves only the engraving open for paint and can be airbrushed or normally painted with acrylic. This is a standard procedure we do here at SLC 😊 So, ultimately what can be done are the following: 1. Magnets on the edges/corners of the leather to prevent curling 2. Painter's tape (or "3D printer sheet tape" is what we use) to engrave through the tape and leather to allow for acrylic painting 3. Using a Hermann Oak leather and dyeing/splitting the piece to reach the desired weight/color 4. Using Horween chrome tan leather can be split to the desired weight, but it cannot be painted with acrylic in the same manner as Hermann Oak veg tan. I hope that we've helped shine some light on any information you may have needed! If you have any further questions, you can always email our resident laser engraver at [e-mail] Thanks! :)

[@arobertpetersen]

Love that stupid dog production intro! 😆

[@barrywatson754]

I use 7/8 oz for all my CC Holsters. Easier to wet mold and bone. Just my 2 cents.

[@hairchick1985]

Your video's are excellent! i'm from Australia and started to make tack and i have my first roll of Hermann Oak to use soon!

[@mr.matthews67]

Saw the Chihuahua and lost it! 😆😆😆

[@darrellramsey8099]

Can you do a video on oil dying import vs domestic I would love to see how neatsfoot oil would do on both.

[@Bootbitch]

Darrell Ramsey Weaver leather KZbin page has really good vids on many subjects so does Tandy and also Don Gonzales

[@55418und]

Bible cover would be what weight? Not too flimsy, bit acceptable to carry .

[@MarilynDIAZDESIGNS]

I didn't know cows lived in the jungle! Lol. Why does the US measure the thickness by ounce verses mm?

[@wedgetailleather]

MillieD they just cut down the jungle so they can graze more cows, but sometimes they get out of the fences :p Pretty sure the US use oz to measure leather for the same reasons they still use feet and inches, and put dates in the wrong order ;)

[@GorVala]

Awsome video. Thank you so much

[@michael3573]

Thanks for helping me make the decision to never come to your shop for advice. I’m sorry I can’t get my time back from watching this video.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Very sorry to have seemed to cause you to waste your time. I would appreciate you letting me know what about the video you think to be incorrect though so we can make a correction where necessary

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Kevin

[@AlexanderMason1]

@@SpringfieldLeather ignore him, he’s obviously a pretentious A**

[@transbirthingperson4823]

2x2x2 Never realized leather is sold by the cubic foot. Interesting.

[@Hattonbank]

Very thick hides on those animals!

[@AlexanderMason1]

@@Hattonbank haha 😂

[@sipapito]

🤣

[@jackboyd147]

i would like to know if you have a supplier in or near the uk as i buy leather 8-9 Oz and soon i will be looking for another batch so please let me know and i would like a Archery quiver made of hermon oak it looks real good i am just beginning i am practicing a lot i am learing to stitiching now i do saddle stich and i think it is the best sewing i have ever done, i hope to here from you soon i would also like a price of a full side but in English money but i have always wanted to live in america calarado it is my dream.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

jack boyd Hello Jack! Springfield Leather Company is located in the Midwestern United States, however we ship internationally on a daily basis. If you are interested in setting up an account with us, please email [e-mail]. Our international representative will work with you to guaranty the best possible shipping rates, and can discuss Hermann Oak pricing.

[@SLCpresents]

Hello That first piece of D grade vegi tanned leather ... what does that cost as a illustrated here. Half of a full hide should cost me how much ? And if that was A grade how much would it cost. Is it cheaper to buy a full hide? Thank you

[@AlexanderMason1]

Herman oak doesn’t sell full hides, only sides (half a hides) you can buy several but they are usually cut in half before even being tanned for easier handling by the worker. Usually only upholsterers use whole hides (for obvious reasons) and rarely do people use vegetable tanned leather for upholstery.

[@j.m.england6828]

Hi there i'm still enjoying your very, very helpful videos, but for starting out as I am, i'm needing to learn what is it I should be using on leather that is semi lightweight, I bought a pack of remnants as a good starter, I never got any heavy leather & I want to make maybe a keychain, coin purse, wallets or cigarette lighter holder, etc, I think the leather I got may be to light weight, so can any of this be successfully used, can it be thickened by being treated with a finish of some sort, i'd appreciate any helpful pointers that you can give me on this issue thanks.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

We hope to be releasing some new videos where we use our scrap bags to make things!

[@j.m.england6828]

@@SpringfieldLeather Oh thank you this will be very helpful, I look forward to this, stay safe & healthy, bye for now.

[@MountainFisher]

I can testify to high quality leather being easier to work. I bought some shoulders on sale for $104 for 9-10 oz and it looked really good and that's the reason for the five star ratings that it got, but I should have paid attention to the only three star rating where the reviewer talked about how dry it was and how it was difficult to cut. Luckily I only bought one shoulder, but every belt I've made from it I had to line them because the flesh side wasn't as top quality as the top grain side., so another double shoulder and where'd my savings go? Typically when I sand the edge of my pieces to smooth out my corner cuts it sands smooth, but not this stuff, it just got hairier. The tannage was poor and the grain was loose in too many places. Luckily it tooled nice and took the oil based dye I use or I would have tossed it. So I think I illustrated Kevin's point, cheap leather sux to work with. Also when reading reviews, pay close attention to the middle of the road reviews and beware of reviews that say a utility #2 grade priced leather is B grade, because if it was B grade it wouldn't have a #2 grade price.

[@zahoorahmed3871]

Hi..I'm doing veg tan leather

[@charredskeleton]

These guys are from springfield leather which has an awesome website.

[@alb673]

So you are saying that American leather is better then the leather coming from Tuscany in Italy?

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Not really. I have bought Italian leather that puts many American leathers to shame, and the Italians are famous for very high quality leathers. I also bought 50000 feet of Italian calf leather about 6 months ago and paid 35 CT’s a foot for it. It’s lousy and I hope I can get my money back out of it. It’s really the tannery that matters

[@StuninRub]

American naked veg tanned Leather is structurally better then anything the Italians can tan. Italians are really good at cheap fashion leathers, but when it comes to structurally sound veg tanned leather America and England is king. Italian leather is overrated.

[@felixlarranagacouto1353]

@@SpringfieldLeather The video and the theme are very good, although on Italian leather we must note that on limited occasions material from that country is bought, the calves mentioned could be of any other origin and have arrived in Italy pickled or pre-tanned and / or wet white

[@luceafarul579]

@@StuninRub what?! So buttero, Tempesti, Puccini, badalassi are “cheap fashion leather” for you? American naked veg tan are better than Italian equivalent for firm tempered leathers. Anything that needs suppleness and flexibility American leathers simply cannot match, with the one exception being Horween’s Essex-derby line.

[@StuninRub]

@@luceafarul579 Horween only does fashion leathers too. All the Italian leathers you listed are dogshit especially Buttero. If you want suppleness and flexibility, look at the French offerings.

[@MrNickstevenson63]

Over 17 minutes of rambling that could have been said in less than 3 minutes.

[@duxallinarow]

Use a 1.5 to 2 playback speed setting. Helps a lot.

[@kanagawakenji7]

@@duxallinarow still not fast enough...

[@Doctor_Al]

I prefer flaws, imperfections, brands, whatever. If as person wants an absolutely flawless surface, why not just use vinyl?

[@MrEntouch]

Dont forget Horween as a Tannery left here in the US.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

You’re right. I thought I mentioned that but must have forgot. But their production is all pretty much all contracted and all the seconds usually only go to one vendor I believe

[@justjosie8963]

It's "a happy thing". :)

[@billnewman8261]

How much is it.

[@dflash0]

LOL - love the stupid dog intro.. !!!

[@GFSwinger1693]

Never seen a cube of leather.

[@theeasternfront6436]

Philip Ernst REEEEEEEEAAAALLLY huge cows, thick skin.

[@joan9569]

Very informative. Thank you.

[@BoydWaters]

Really great to see some different hides. I'm totally new to this. (Love the dog roar at the opening of your video. That guy looks like he just bit into a good hunk of "jungle leather".)

[@billnewman8261]

How much.

[@paulevetts9771]

you seem pissed off mate. chill out.

[@jaredtandle2596]

So when making a wallet you basically decide which group of people you prefer to think you're stupid.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Well, I guess it could come to that. 😊 but you probably get the point

[@jaredtandle2596]

@@SpringfieldLeather lol yeah, another dude said you could have a room with 4 leather workers, 8 different ways to do it, and you'll hear all of them. Thanks for the vid, I know more now than I did. Looking at getting into this craft.

[@terryglenweaver]

He did a Texas two step when he claimed a hide could be tanned outside of USA and tried to claim it as valid. With that he could claim a cow from USA harvested in another country and tanned in another country is better than a cow from another country tanned by another country. Just double talk and not valid.

[@oujdaTV1Ville]

you know what is a zero ? .0. lost my time .....but it s .0.

[@billyhellmaker]

'Great! But you have to let Jeff laugh - good stuff!

[@Believerification]

guy with the tape

[@mrceltics4444]

Cuts, scars, brands...those are cosmetic. Loose grain? That's more than cosmetic if it affects the temper of the leather, right? Isn't that what affects grades as well?

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Hello! Thanks for your question. :) The loose grain does not affect the grade of the leather. Basically, the loose grain comes from the belly, which makes it a more "stretchy" part of the cow than other parts. So, you wouldn't use this part for projects like straps and belts. The grain is determined by the number of blemishes on the hide. Hope this helps! :)

[@danbarb9728]

I not really into leather but i wanna buy a leather jacket, probably horse leather or steer from horwick. Leather jackets get graining over time, what does that mean, is that the grain you mentioned in the video? So the leathers getting grainy anyway?

[@genaroaviles8555]

Hi kevin can i buy Leather from you

[@pennyghost]

Great video. Cleared up a lot. Thank you.

[@carollreece1190]

Great information! Thank you!

[@leatherman651]

Great video. Thank you.

[@SpringfieldLeather]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@geraldreed277]

Good info but needs a teleprompter and a preprepared script for smoother talk. Contact me if you want help.

[@ScottMillersb]

Is the first two and a half minutes really about explaining the difference between "Domestic" and "Import"? AKA US or non-US based suppliers. All of your other videos with the other guy are great and to the point. This video is pretty bad.

[@anthonymiller8979]

I though the Domestic vs. Import was useful. I had thought domestic meant USA hides and USA tanning, not so it seems. Could be USA hides and Mexico tanning or maybe even somewhere else. Not everyone would know that based on just the words to describe it.

[@Bootbitch]

I agree. I don’t enjoy vids by this guy. He just rubs ya the wrong way. Enough so that I usually avoid his vids all together.

[@charlesabbott5563]

@@anthonymiller8979 Chanin is USA hides tanned in Mexico, check out Bruce Cheney's latest videos on youtube. I just received my 1rst order from them through American Leather Direct very nice quality and reasonably priced.

[@richfgpt4883]

Thank you.

[@taylorlarson1534]

Why is this guy so condescending? 😂

[@wicklowabby7977]

I know right? Sounds like my Grandpa telling me why should vote for trump...fuck-off

[@LorenzoNW]

I'm surprised to read that domestic cattle are raised under better living conditions than imported. The documentary "Food Inc." shows the horrible living conditions cattle are raised, under factory farming in the U.S.

[@scotthays294]

Remember that in docs like the one you are talking about, they more or less have to show the worst of the worst out there. Most ranchers treat their cattle quite well as it is their livelihood. If they produce a lousy product, it won't sell. So ya, there are definitely some real butt heads out there, but not all are.

[@mr.matthews67]

Yes, I grew up on a farm and never saw conditions like that propaganda. It happens sure, but more often than not people really care about animals. Also when you take care of the animal you get a much better meat and a much better product. There's been many times I sat down and ate a steak of an animal I raised from a calf and it was killed humanely and lived a good happy life. This is the kind of thing that small simple farmers do. It's the huge big industries that look at cows as a product not a living thing.

[@danielalt7508]

Luxury leather in Sweden costs around $12.

[@Hattonbank]

For what, 10cm squared, 1 square metre, one whole hide? I would guess that you can buy standard Swediush auto grade leather for about $60 per square metre.

[@danielalt7508]

​@@Hattonbank I am not sure about the current leather prices, but 4 years ago when I wrote this, it was per square meter. From "tärnsjö garveri". Excellent quality with very tight pores. I now checked the price, and it was half side (20ft^2) with a price of 88,20 SEK a square feet.

[@fanman8102]

Nice into!

[@ray0fh0pe]

thank u

[@candiwibawa8030]

sir how can i purchase online?

[@JoeClaflin1]

+candi wibawa Google Springfield Leather. Huge web site

[@skippy120857]

2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. Thick a shit.

[@zahoorahmed3871]

Hi. I'm also veg tan makker

[@AS-zn3zd]

Its funny one! Also "happy little knife", and singing ..

[@waymore839]

He's trying to hard to explain .

[@mrniceshoes2118]

“Too hard “ with ✌🏽O’s.

[@robertogomez705]

Buen video

[@garethruston8293]

Holy cow ... they must know that you tube is international... And to insinuate that all import leather is bad is very biased ... thought the video was very informative ... then I was unable to trust anything they said ....

[@stefaniaslovat]

They only import from China,so they think that the rest of the world is China...

[@charlesabbott5563]

He didn't insinuate that all foreign leather is bad he was talking about the processes used to tan get over yourself.

[@charlesabbott5563]

@@stefaniaslovat yours is a ignorant borderline stupid comment.

[@luceafarul579]

St Peter’s no their imported leather is from central to South America. I don’t think China does that many veg tanned leathers I could be wrong, but certainly their qualities wouldn’t be on par enough for them to use them.

[@StuninRub]

When it comes to veg tanned leather America, England, and Japan(very low volume) does it best. Everybody else is mainly good at chrome tanning.

[@ujnnju]

hmm... bias much? #MakeAmericaDomesticLeatherAgain?

[@charlesabbott5563]

It's not bias it's common sense 70% of slaughtered cattle in the USA are steers who life span on average is 16 months so they have less scars and bug bites, South American cattle are typically slaughtered at an older age with most steers average age of 20 to 24 months so they encounter more bugs and opportunities to get scarred, and no we don't kill ours earlier because of anything sinister it's just cattle gain weight faster in cooler climates. It's common sense and science best of both worlds.

[@mostafaman305]

نعل بلدي الحور نتها

[@mikemojc]

Thank You, this is quite helpful.